The present invention relates to a device for preventing stertorous breathing or snoring and adapted to be fixated to a person""s upper row of teeth and having a retaining means for fixating the tongue in a forward position in order to prevent the tongue from blocking the respiratory passages.
The present invention furthermore relates to a device for preventing abrasion of the teeth in the upper and lower parts of the mouth as a result of a person""s grinding his or her teeth during sleep.
Numerous devices of this kind are already known, however they all suffer from the disadvantage that they have to be manufactured especially for the individual user or at least have to be adjusted to the user by people skilled in the art.
Furthermore, the known devices for prevention of stertorous breathing or snoring often suffer from the disadvantage or drawback that the device is not comfortable to wear and in some instances prevent the user from sleeping.
Known devices and known techniques of preventing stertorous breathing or snoring are described in DE 407.449, U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,647, DE 3816769 and DE 4026402 and devices for preventing abrasion of the teeth during sleep are known from and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,966,908, 3,096,761 and 3,314,423 to which patent applications and patents reference is made and which US-patents are hereby further incorporated in the present specification by reference.
An object of the invention is to provide a device of the above mentioned kind which device can be used without professional assistance, which is not inconvenient to wear and which does not damage the soft or hard tissue of the oral cavity.
The above objects together with numerous other objects, advantages and features which will be evident from the below detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the device according to the present invention are obtained by a device according to a first aspect of the present invention for preventing stertorous breathing and snoring comprising a non-rigid and flexible transverse girder for fixation in the upper part of a person""s mouth, preferably at the back of the upper part of the mouth, and a tongue catching member extending downwardly from the non-rigid and flexible transverse girder the tongue catching member being produced from an elastic material and being adapted to fixate the tongue in a forward position in order to prevent the tongue from blocking the respiratory passages.
Due to the elasticity of the tongue catching member, the device according to the present invention may be used by a variety of individuals without the necessity of having the device adjusted individually to the intentional user. Furthermore, the elasticity of the tongue catching means allows the user to swallow while the device according to the present invention is positioned in its intentional position in the upper part of the person""s or user""s mouth without causing any substantial uncomfort to the user or person wearing or using the device.
It is further contemplated that the device according to the present invention provides a safety or security advantage as the tongue catching member of the device according to the present invention may prevent the tongue from falling backwards and block the respiratory passages when the user yawns during sleep.
The device according to the present invention may be produced from any appropriate natural or synthetic material or materials, such as synthetic or natural rubber, e.g. medical rubber, or plastics materials, such as polyvinyl plastics material including vinyl acetate ethylene polymeric material as e.g. polyethylene vinyl acetate or a polyefine such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Due to the elasticity and flexibility of the material, the soft and hard tissue of the oral cavity is not damaged by the device according to the present invention. It is especially preferred that the polymeric material is a thermo plastic polymeric material. The ability of the device according to the present invention to adapt to the specific set of teeth or gums of the intentional user or person wearing the device according to the present invention may be further improved by utilizing a polymeric material which softens at a temperature of between 40 and 80xc2x0 C. and preferably between 50 and 70xc2x0 C., and plastically adjust to the teeth or gums of the user in question. Examples of polymeric materials of this type are materials produced and marketed by the company Bayer Dental(trademark) under the trademarks MEMOSIL(copyright) C. D. and PROVIL(copyright) P. soft. The above polymeric materials or similar polymeric materials may further be used in combination with a precast device including a recess or a groove for receiving the softenable polymeric material. The device according to the present invention is preferably produced by casting e.g. by diecasting as the device in its entirety is preferably integrally cast from an elastic material, e.g. natural or synthetic rubber or one of the above mentioned plastics materials or a combination thereof. By means of devices provided in the die a marking indicating the time of production may be obtained.
According to the present invention, the non-rigid and flexible transverse girder may be fixated in the upper part of a person""s mouth by means of a fixation member adapted to cooperate with the teeth or the gums in the upper part of the user""s mouth. According to one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the non-rigid and flexible transverse girder and the downwardly protruding tongue catching member may be produced from the same non-rigid and flexible material. Moreover, the fixation member may be adapted to engage with the teeth and/or the gums in the upper part of a user""s mouth for fixation of the embodiment in the upper part of the user""s mouth, and it may be produced from an elastic material for adjustment to the row of teeth and the gums in the upper part of the user""s mouth.
According to a presently preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, the fixation member may be U-shaped and constitute a groove for engaging with the user""s teeth or gums and optionally for receiving the above mentioned softenable polymeric material. The groove may be perforated or provided with slots for fixation in relation to the users teeth and/or gums. It is i.a. the object of the perforation to ensure a suitable air inlet to the gums, while it is the aim of the slots to ensure that the positioning of the device is established through snap fitting.
In one embodiment, the transverse girder may be more rigid than the U-shaped groove, and it may be of a rigidity so as to ensure that the two legs of the groove are substantially kept at the same lavel during use of the device. Thus, the U-shaped groove is prevented from twisting during use whereby the risk that the device unintendedly loses its engagement with the upper row of teeth is to a substantial extent eliminated. The lower surface of the transverse girder may be rounded off in order for the tongue to rest comfortably between the transverse girder and the front teeth when being pressed forwardly by the retaining member.
The tongue catching member may be of any appropriate shape which is not inconvenient for the user, i.g. be of the shape of a plate with rounded edges. It is especially preferred that the tongue catching member is produced as a substantially U-shaped brace.
In profile, the tongue catching member may be of any appropriate shape causing the tongue to be pressed forwardly during use of the device, i.e. arc-shaped having its cavity downwards.
Furthermore, the tongue catching member according to the present invention may extend crosswise backwardly and downwards.
Still further, according to the presently preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention, the exterior wall of the U-shaped member, at least where it is adjusted to engange with the front teeth, may extend upwardly and inwardly in relation to its bottom wall in such a manner that it is pressed outwardly during positioning of the device and also after positioning of the device puts a pressure to the front teeth for fixation of the device.
Furthermore, according to the presently preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention, the interior side wall of the U-shaped part may be lower than the exterior side wall at least in the area which is adapted to engage with the front teeth.
The tongue catching member is preferably adapted to engage with the upper surface of the tongue at a distance from the root of the tongue and preferably in the area between the premolar and a distance behind the molar.
Preferably, the U-shaped groove may be provided so as to engage with or cover all the teeth of an average user. However, it should preferably not cover the entire molar. Thus, it is noted that when producing the device it is an advantage that children""s and grown-up""s sets of teeth are substantially of the same size and thus the device may be produced in only few standard sizes.
Furthermore, the device according to the invention may comprise a catching member extending outwardly from the front wall of the U-shaped groove in the area of the U-shaped wall which is adapted to engage with the front teeth. This embodiment of the present invention is especiallly intended to be used in recovery wards as in this event the device may be removed from a patient""s mouth by grasping the catching member.
According to a further embodiment of the device according to the present invention, the device further comprises an additional fixation member adapted to cooperate with the teeth or the gums in the lower part of the user""s mouth, the additional fixation member being connected to the fixation member through a hinge and serving the purpose of fixating the lower part of the user""s mouth in relation to the upper part of the user""s mouth, preferably in a relaxed position. The provision of the additional fixation member provides a device allowing the lower part of the users mouth to be fixated in relation to the upper part of the user""s mouth when the device is positioned in its intentional position in the mouth of the user or person using the device. The additional fixation member may be utilized for fixating the lower part of the user""s mouth in any specific position e.g. a forward or rearward position dependent on the geometrical shape and configuration of the additional fixation member relative to the fixation member adapted to cooperate with the teeth and/or the gums in the upper part of the user""s mouth. The provision of the additional fixation member, thus, renders it possible to fulfill certain clinical objects, however the additional fixation member preferably allows the user to freely open or close his or her mouth during the sleep, e.g; for allowing the user to swallow and/or yawn. Therefore the additional fixation member mainly constitutes a means for preventing the lower part of the user""s mouth to be positioned in an extreme position such as an extreme rearward or forward position which might cause harm or injuries or simple discomfort to the user.
The above objects together with numerous other objects, advantages and features which would be evident from the below detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the device according to the present invention are obatined by a device according to a second aspect of the present invention for preventing abrasion of the teeth in the upper and the lower part of the mouth as a result of a person grinding his teenth during sleep, comprising a U-shaped fixation part constituting a groove for catching the user""s teeth and gums in the upper part of the user""s mouth and being produced from a elastic material for adjustment in relation to the row of teeth and the gums in the upper part of the user""s mouth, and further comprising a non-rigid and flexible transverse girder connecting the back ends of the U-shaped fixation part in the back of the upper part of the user""s mouth.
According to a preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention, the groove may be perforated or provided with slots for fixation in relation to the teeth and/or the gums of the user. The perforations may i.a. ensure a suitable air input to the gums while the slots ensure the positioning of the device to be established to take place through snap fitting. Furthermore, the fixation member may comprise a tongue catching member extending downwardly from the non-rigid and flexible transverse girder which tongue catching member is produced from an elastic material and is adapted to keep the tongue in a forward position in order to prevent the tongue from blocking the respiratory passages.